Welcome! This blog reflects more or less my description of living with Usher syndrome, my CI (cochlear implant) journey, my guide dog journey, and any random thoughts I may want to post.

Monday, April 05, 2010

I Would Like to Buy a Hamburger

From this blogger's desk:

Hello, guys. I thought it was about time to put you up to date with what’s going on since the last time I posted.

Let’s see…I have been febrile with cabin fever and I am enjoying the early “summerlike” days we had last week. Shorts. Sitting on the front porch relaxing, watching (but not really staring) at cars that whiz by (sometimes I get a little anxious when I see a car that I think is going a wee bit too fast because there’s a lot of kids around here and can be in or by the street at any given time. Last week was spring break for the public schools here and now it’s the girls’ turn to have spring break this week. So there are no kids to play with during the day because the others are back in school. But they do come out of the woodwork during the after school hours. (Groan.)

In another two months, the girls will be out of school for the summer. The way time has been speeding by for me, I can just taste it now. It’ll be here before I know it. On one hand, I’ll be glad it’s summer. No stresses and hollering about going to bed at a certain time, homework, etc., but then I’ll stress about how much time they will be hanging out with the kids around here. It’s an endless worry for parents, eh?

As for me, no job interviews yet. I was told that I may be doing some data entry stuff at a local charity place. I’m sure it’s voluntary work on their part, but vocational rehab will be paying my salary while I work there. I was told it should be in May or June. Though it’s temporary, it’ll put something current on my résumé, considering that I haven’t been working for six years now. Four of those years were in school, full-time for two years then part-time the last two. Now two more years later, no work yet. I feel like I need a refresher course on some stuff.

Next week I have another mapping for the CI (cochlear implant). A mapping is just an adjustment made to the CI for the best hearing levels I can tolerate (if it’s too loud) and at what point the sound is too soft. This is the 18 month mapping, though really it’s 20 months because my audiologist was on maternity leave so everything is two months behind now. That’s okay, though. So I should be updating you about that mapping experience. I don’t feel like anything is different, no major improvements like it was the first three months. I continuously get amazed about the fact that if I put in my hearing aid in the other ear first, I really hear squat with it. (How did anyone stand to talk to me???) I don’t know if it’s because the brain adjusted to hearing with the CI at about 25 decibels (mild hearing loss range) from the severe to profound range I have with the hearing aid ear. I made do with it and worked with what I had and now I realize how bad my hearing really is in that ear. But maybe, too, my hearing may have deteriorated since the CI surgery. Or maybe both.

Meanwhile, I am hooked on American Idol (this season) and don’t have any “favorites”, but I do think that Lee and Crystal are the best ones. I didn’t really watch American Idol too much before. I had school and just watched it towards the end so I didn’t wee all the singers. This time, I am watching them. I try to form my own opinion of them before the judging panel does. I know I would hate to be criticized like that.

I find myself continuously being corrected by my pronunciation police, Flare, and sometimes Angel and Hubby.

I couldn’t say the word “diabolical”. My tongue just couldn’t match the word I could hear in my head. Flare would correct me again and again. Diabological….no, diabolical, diabolagical….once I said it right and couldn’t say it correctly again. I got frustrated and said, “I would like to buy a hamburger.” It lossened the mood and we were cracking up, laughing together. She totally "got it" right away.

If you have seen the movie, “The Pink Panther” with Steve Martin, you should remember the scene where he had a teacher tutor him on the right way to say “I would like to buy a hamburger”. He totally murdered the word “hamburrrrrg”.

So, since then, every time I trip over certain words, I’ll say, “I would like to buy a hamburger.”

3 Comments:

Shorts weather! Who'd have thought it would arrive this early? Hope the job comes through - you're right - it will look good on the resume.As for pronouncing words, I remember the scene in that movie. Love the way you fight frustration with humour.And just wait until you get to be my age - it's not just the pronunciation, it's trying to come up with the correct word!! This memory thing... ;)

About Me

Living with a genetic disorder called Usher Syndrome Type II. It's a gamble-each parent must have the same gene to pass it on to the child. There's a one in four chance of passing it on. One is born with varying degrees of hearing loss and loss of sight caused by a retinal disorder called retinitis pigmentosa (RP).